Between Shadows
by Fafa Fai
Summary: Nobody saw this coming, nobody could explain how they didn't see something was wrong. Warning: Mention of suicide attempt and mental health issues. Nathan/Jack pairing. Disclaimer:I do not own any of these characters.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"I know it's stupid. I know it's all in my head. But I just can't stop it!" Jack growled. "I try to ignore it, I try to stop thinking about it but nothing works." He paused and then in almost whisper said, "All I can hear is this voice telling me how all of you would be better if I died."

Zoe whimpered and Nathan closed his eyes. They were outside Jack's hospital room and could clearly hear what was being said.

"It is not stupid, Jack." Allison said with a gentle voice. "I just wish you had come to me, or anybody else, for help."

Jack didn't reply.

After a few moments of silence Allison said goodbye and closed the hospital door behind her. When she saw Zoe and Nathan she smiled sadly and went to sit with them.

"We talked with his doctor; Jack has been under strong antidepressants for a few years now." Allison informed them. "But I guess you knew that" She said to Zoe who nodded. It has been such a shock to find out the Sherriff has been hiding such a secret.

"This is my fault." Zoe said with a hoarse voice. "We had a fight, he didn't want me to see Lucas during school nights and I got so angry I said he didn't have a right to tell me what to do since he was on drugs all the time."

Nathan cringed but held the teenager and tried to assure her that she wasn't responsible for this. "Zoe, your dad is sick. You might have fought but he was in one of his "down" periods." He was apparently calm and collected but Allison could see though his façade. He was freaking out, just like her, and asking how in the world they didn't see something like this.

Zoe looked at him with red rimmed eyes. "But don't you see? I am his daughter, I am supposed to help him though this, to watch for the warning signs."

Allison just looked at her. What was she supposed to say to that? She tried to console Zoe when Jack was brought in but she blamed herself for not seeing this coming. Allison wanted Zoe to see how unpredictable Jack's disease was but she doubted the teenager would believe her; the girl was still in shock. She has made it her job to make sure her father took his medicine and support him during the periods of depression. It was not a fair situation, Zoe has been doing the job of an adult, she wasn't prepared to take care of her father but she was all Jack had right now and they learnt to get by.

What she couldn't understand was how Jack got into a law enforcement agency. Didn't all officers go through a psych evaluation? And she was pretty sure that during a routine physical and blood screening the antidepressants would have easily been detected.

But what if Jack hasn't been taking his meds? What if he stopped taking them a long time ago and kept it a secret? No, Zoe checked her father's meds and make sure everything was in order.

Allison sighed. So many questions and the one with the answers refused to talk about it.

She cared about Jack, she loved him and wanted what was best for him but she needed to make sure Jack wasn't a danger to himself or Eureka. She knew he could do his job before but right now Jack was too unstable, besides she was certain Jack's superiors wouldn't be amused with his actions.

"Hey"

Jack has been pretending to watch tv but it was obvious his head was somewhere else. When he heard the greeting he almost jumped in surprise.

"Hey" Jack responded without enthusiasm. "I thought you were busy with one of your projects."

Nathan nodded and not caring about being seen sat next to Jack and held his hand. "I don't care about any project, right now all I care about is you."

Jack looked away. "Be careful, someone could see your hand touching mine and last thing I want is people believing you are a faggot."

Nathan sighed. "I know you probably don't believe me but I do love you."

Jack looked in surprised. "You love me?"

Nathan simply looked Jack in the eyes. "Yes, I do. I know we never talked about this but right now I think you need to know that you are important to me, if you are gone I would suffer and probably never get over it."

Jack bit his lip but didn't say anything just squeezed Nathan's hand.

"I talked with Abby and Zoe. We thought it would be a good idea if you went with Zoe and stayed with Abby for a few days." Nathan hated this idea but what else could he do?

Jack's eyes hardened. "That's great!" Jack shouted and shoved Nathan away. "Send the nutjob away! First you say you love me and now you're kicking me out."

"I am not kicking you out; I am trying to help you." Nathan tried to get though Jack's paranoia. "Eureka is not doing you any good, right now you need a safe place, somewhere you are comfortable."

Jack laughed. "I haven't felt safe or comfortable since I was ten years old and they used electroshock therapy on me to stop the voices in my head."

Nathan bit his lip and tried not to cry in frustration. "What would you like to do, Jack?"

Jack was speechless. It was the first time in a long time that someone actually asked what he wanted to do, this kind of decisions were always taken by others and he was simply informed about what was being done. What would he like to do?

"I don't want to stay with Abby." Jack tried to explain himself. "I know you are all worried about me but Abby is not the solution. I know I need help but I don't want Abby involved in this."

Okay, Nathan could work with that. At least Jack acknowledged he needed help. That was progress, right?

"When were you gonna mention that you've been sleeping with my dad?" Zoe said with an accusing tone.

Okay, _that_ he was not expecting.

"You know, I have been thinking." Zoe crossed her arms and shot daggers at Nathan. "You two have been really close lately and my dad, who usually mops and whines all over the place because of Allison, has been happy. And I don't mean his maniac self but he has been smiling and feeling positive about things in general. I thought nothing of it, I was just glad things were going well."

Nathan didn't know what to say. Jack tried to convince him that telling Zoe was a good idea but Nathan refused, too afraid of what others would say.

"But something suddenly happened. He went distant and ignored me; he even started drinking beer without me knowing." Zoe continued. "So after what I just heard I believe I should ask what the hell did you do to my dad?"

_Here goes nothing_, thought Nathan. "I didn't want anyone to know about us."

At this Zoe laughed harshly. "What, is my dad something to be ashamed of?"

Nathan shook his head. "No, I am a coward."

"That you are." Zoe nodded with fake sympathy. "Just so you know, until you man up I don't want you to see my dad. I know it sounds cruel but I don't think seeing you help him. He is still confused and doesn't seem to be aware of what he did."

He couldn't refute that. Jack knew what he did, he remembered how and when he did it but he failed to see how serious his actions were. Doctors talked about delusion but he wasn't so sure, he thought Jack was in denial.

"Hey dad!" Zoe entered the room with a smile that got bigger when she saw his father.

Jack's eyes went wide and his smile matched Zoe's. "Zoe!"

His daughter hugged him hard and kissed his cheek. "I brought you pizza and coffee"

The doctors thought it was best to give Jack food he enjoyed to make him feel comfortable during his stay in the hospital seeing as he refused to eat the hospital's food.

"That's my girl!" Jack went straight to the bag and moaned in pleasure when he saw the pizza. "Finally, some real food."

"You have to eat it later. The nurse is coming to administer your meds." Zoe said and seeing her father's face go white she asked, "Dad, when did you stop taking your meds?"

"Why does everyone make the same question?" Jack asked angrily. "What does it matter, Zoe?"

Zoe's eyes went teary. "It matters because I need to know why I wasn't able to stop it."

Jack held his daughter's hands in his. "This is not your fault."

"Neither is yours."

She wanted his father to understand that his feelings of being a burden were unfounded but she didn't know how. She has obviously failed in showing him how much she loved him and needed him. "When you and mom started fighting I got mad at you, I blamed you for all the pain and confusion I had inside me but after coming here I realized I was afraid you hated me, I was afraid I was the reason you and mom couldn't be together."

Jack frantically tried to convince his daughter she was not to blame for his and Abby's divorce. "It had nothing to do with you. It was my fault, I pretty much abandoned you and your mom for my job and when I saw my mistakes it was too late." It was his fault, he was responsible for making his wife's life miserable, and he made his own daughter feel responsible for his stupidity and failures.

Zoe smiled at her dad with such love that Jack's heart constricted a little. "I know that now and I don't blame you anymore, I am just glad I had the chance to know you better and live with you. I am happy you are in my life, never doubt that." She sobbed.

Jack hugged and kissed her head. "Oh Zoe, I love you so much."

"I love you too, daddy"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Well, I still don't have a beta so the mistakes are obviously all mine. Also, I want to thanks everyone who commentedxt

**One week later.**

Jack had been living dead for a long time. He sometimes compared his existence with a zombie working undercover. Zombie Jack didn't know what to do with his life; he stopped enjoying doing his job even before Zoe was born but it was the only thing he was good at so he stayed. Zombie Jack had to take four types of pill and although he never remembered their names, that was Zoe's job, most of the time he know what their purpose was.

The blue ones made him want to get out of bed, take a shower and start the day.

The red ones remind him he needed to eat, drink and go to bed.

The orange ones made him smile and forget, for a little bit, how much he sucked at everything, even breathing.

And last but not least, the yellow ones made him forget everything, including eating, sleeping and smiling. This erased the job the other pills did, so that must be why Zoe kept them away from him.

But he never followed the schedule, especially when he had physicals. That was the funny thing about doctors, they don't go looking for what they had no idea is there.

"The Commander in Chief almost had a fit when I told him what happened, and lost his voice when he saw the report." Allison said to both Nathan and Henry. The two men were inside a conference room while Allison stayed by the door. The woman looked like she had the world on her shoulders. "Looks like at the beginning Jack modified the dosages of every medication and only took what he thought were necessary, but later he stopped taking them altogether."

Henry took a deep breath. "It doesn't explain how nobody detected the drugs in his system before he stopped taking them."

Nathan snorted. "I don't really care about what Jack's superiors think or feel. I only care about Jack's treatment and if he will ever be okay again."

"Well, after the meltdown he had when he couldn't see you, I'd say you will be vital in his recovery." Allison tried to tease and was rewarded with a flush. "When Jack modified the dosages he was aware he needed the medicine, which shows us he had some self-preservation awareness. But now it is obvious he lost any of that and can't be trusted."

"But the disassociation is minimal now." Henry tried to be optimistic but internally felt there wasn't much they could do for their friend. _How could we ignore something like this? How did we miss the signs?_

Allison nodded. "You are right, but we can't guarantee it will stay that way." She felt guilty. She felt like she should have seen something was wrong with both Jack and Zoe. There must have been something in their interactions that she could have perceived as strange. And being honest, before who seemed to need professional help was Zoe and not Jack. Yes, she sucked as a doctor.

Now that everybody knew the true, they were all surprised that it didn't happen sooner. Yeah, it sounded cruel, but it was their painful reality.

Although they shouldn't say it was _their_ painful reality. They weren't the one with aliens in their head making them sick and wishing everything would disappear. They didn't wake up every day wanting to do something only to give up before starting because it wasn't worth it. They didn't feel like a failure and a waste of space. They didn't look at their beautiful daughter and die a little inside after realizing they would never be good enough for her, they never deserved her love and she would be free after they die.

Sometimes it feels as if Jack were having an asthma attack. His chest hurt, his mind couldn't focus and he couldn't breathe. The feeling never got away, it was always there making him feel like he was drowning and the only way out of the water was to let go.

But now, after waking up in that bright room with Allison at his side looking at him like an insect, Jack for the first time, in almost twenty years, felt letting go wasn't such a good idea. Maybe he should stay for a while and see what the big deal was about.

**Three weeks later.**

After talking with his therapists, Jack was starting to see what he did. He knew he hurt his family and friends, but it was still difficult for him to see he was loved, needed and accepted. Yes, it was hard for Zoe but she loved him and didn't care what she had to do to keep his father safe. And yes, he lost his job but now he could receive the right treatment.

"I got you a new book" Zoe gave her father a cheeky grin and put the gift in his lap. Jack raised one eyebrow looking at his lap as if the bag were to explode. Zoe laughed and clapped her hands. "Common, open it!"

With a deep breath he opened it and blinked at the content of the bag. Zoe laughed harder and Jack felt the corners of his mouth make an attempt at copying his daughter.

_Funny comics by Jim Benton._

"What better way to spend your time, when I am not here making your day brighter, than reading funny comics!" Zoe smiled and Jack nodded slowly and opened the magazine.

Zoe visited every day and was able to see the changes the new treatment had on Jack. Sometimes he engaged in conversations, held eye contact and ate freely.

"Thank you." Jack gave a small smile at the first page and looked at his daughter for a brief moment.

Zoe beamed and gave her father a hug. "I love you, daddy." She would say it every day for the rest of her life to make it clear. "Don't let go, please."

Jack hugged her back and nodded.

It had been three weeks since _it_ happened and both Nathan and Zoe knew they had to be patient but they wanted Jack out of the psych ward and at home, but they were all afraid Jack would have a sudden drop caused by the memories the house would bring of his suicide attempt.

Nathan wasn't allowed to visit Jack for one week but Zoe had to change her mind after Jack got confused, scared and combative when Nathan didn't show up. And that's how the staff figured out they was something going on between the two men. And Nathan was surprised by how much he didn't care his secret was common knowledge now.

Nathan guessed watching the man you love in a pool of his own blood and finding out it was caused by a long lasting mental illness makes you immune to social bullshit.

"Hello, sir." Nathan entered the hospital room and spoke in a deep voice. "I come bringing peace and love." This part he whispered and Jack smiled shyly.

Nathan didn't get a verbal response but it didn't surprise him. "I am here to take you out for a little trip." He waited for Jack to process the information.

Nathan offered his hand and Jack looked at it biting his lip. Jack reached and with hesitation took Nathan's offered hand. Nathan held the pale and fragile hand with love and with gentle movement took Jack out the room.

Now that he knew about Jack's mental illness and Zoe accepted him, Nathan will hold Jack's hand forever in this strange and bumpy road.

"I love you, Jack." Nathan said when they reached the garden.

Jack looked at the sky and squeezed Nathan's hand.

**The End**

And this is the site jimbenton for the comics Zoe bought.


End file.
